


Walked in to get boba (walked out with a boyfriend)

by notupforpolo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, But like two swear words, Everyones just kinda gay, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Relationship, Rain, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, bubble tea, but only barely, it's cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 12:03:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20153290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notupforpolo/pseuds/notupforpolo
Summary: Johnny goes on a quest to get boba tea on a rainy day. After he finally finds a peaceful little shop the rain is so strong he has to stay inside. He gets ready for an uneventful time but his thoughts come back to bite him when a handsome man named Ten stumbles inside.





	Walked in to get boba (walked out with a boyfriend)

The boba shop in front of him had been six exhausting, wet and boring blocks in the making. Six blocks of confused wandering in the middle of New York autumn. Every other time – and there had been many times – Johnny had walked down the streets of the city he lived he had felt as if there were boba shops everywhere – around every corner almost. But no, the one time he was actively looking for one, there was not a single one. Until he stumbled across the one he was at now. The name Cha Talk was printed in bold letters on the glass door and almost the entire interior of the store was visible as it was placed right at the corner of a building and the walls were mostly windows.

Tiny droplets had started falling from the grey sky as early as three blocks back, Johnny could feel the wind starting to pick up and the drops get bigger, so he hurried inside the store. The glass door was heavier than he had expected so he was a little taken aback at the first pull, but he made it in on the second. A little bell on the door rang out as he stepped in and he was greeted by the sound of some low k-pop playing over a stereo system.

The store was smaller than it had looked from the outside. On the right of the disk was a small sitting area with a high table placed along with the window and five round chairs. The colour pallet was mostly white, grey and pale wood, not the most exciting decor. Johnny wouldn’t prefer to sit here and drink his boba tea but as he glanced out the window the rain had gotten much stronger.

No one was standing behind the register so Johnny just started to look around for some type of menu. Since there wasn’t one above the counter or laying on he was a bit dumbfounded at first but soon found a small paper taped to the wall with all kinds of different teas and tapioca pearls. He had bearly read the first couple of options when a door behind the register opened and a man walked out.

He was wearing a grey apron with the logo of the store on it and holding a mountain of plastic cups and straws in a box. As he spotted Johnny he quickly put down the box and wiped his hands on his apron for some reason.

“Hello! Do you know what you want?”

Johnny gave the man a quick once over and god was he tall. He was at least as tall as Johnny and had blond-dyed hair. Yukhei read the small name tag he had on.

“Yes,” exclaimed Johnny a bit too confidently as he had no idea what he wanted to order. “a… black sugar milk tea, please.” He had planned to try something new but whatever. That was a classic. “Oh, and one box of those green tea snacks.” Thank god he remembered that or Yuta would have locked him out of the apartment when he got home.

“Okay, do you want regular sugar and ice?” asked Yukhei as he wrote the order into the register. Johnny thought for a moment but ultimately gave in to his sweet tooth and said yes.

As he ordered the rain had really picked up outside and it was smattering against the window as he down sat on one of the chairs to wait for his tea. A man was walking past and Johnny could see that the man’s umbrella was more of a bother than anything. It was flying everywhere and did nothing to keep the man from getting wet. So sitting in the shop and drinking his tea it was.

After just a little while Johnny heard Yukhei put the plastic over his cup and turned around. “Okay, here you are. Straws are in the box right on the left. Hope you enjoy.” He had a goofy smile, Johnny caught himself thinking as he grabbed his drink. “Thanks.”

As Johnny sat down he noticed that the music was just a little bit louder just to overpower the rain. He knew the song pretty well so he found himself just singing the words in his mind as he looked out the window. Even though a sort-of-not-really storm was raging outside the tiny boba shop was incredibly calm.

Just as Johnny thought about how nice it was the universe decided that Johnny couldn’t be right about anything that day. Because right as the song ended the ringing of a bell cut through the room and a man rushed in. Dripping wet and clutching a plastic bag in his arms.

As the door closed behind him it was obvious that he didn’t notice Johnny sitting there because the next thing he did was not something a sane person would do in the presence of a complete stranger.

“Lucas,” he practically screamed at Yukhei (Lucas?) “you big baby I fixed you lunch.” He dropped the plastic bag on the counter and at the blink of an eye turned around to look at Johnny, who figured he must have expressed very well how shocked he felt. Yukhei followed the man’s line of sight and looked back at him with the same smile. “I mean thank you Ten, but did you have to scream that at me? I have a customer.” 

Ten looked Johnny up and down much less discreetly than Johnny had done Lucas (Yukhei?) and even had the audacity to wink at him. Johnny smiled back but quickly looked away since he could feel a blush spreading on his face. Ten smirked and then promptly looked back to Yukhei. (The men knew each other so Johnny decided that Lucas was too personal. Yukhei was more appropriate.) 

“Yes and I’m probably going to annoy him some more,” he dared to smirk again and Johnny was more intrigued than annoyed if he was being honest with himself. “but I want some tea too. But just so you know I got you dim sum because I know you haven’t gotten that in a while and I walked past that restaurant on 13th Doyer.” Yukhei smiled his goofy smile again and happily took the food. “So what tea can I get you before I go on lunch?”  
“Wow, your customer survive voice gets a” Ten pointed to himself. “Ten from me.” He smiled proudly and made a nudging gesture meaning to prompt Yukhei to laugh. Yukhied smiled but it was Johnny who snorted out loud and regretted in within half a second. He made an apologetic face and quickly turned around to watch as the raindrops race down the window.

Although Johnny didn’t see it, Ten smirked a third time in the short amount of time. Yukhei, however, saw it and decided that he was going to eat his dim sum in the back. He was going to have some damn peace and quiet while he ate today. He deserved it and if Ten smiled like that he wasn’t going to get any out here. “So anyway, I want a guava green tea with normal tapioca.”

Johnny heard Ten order but the rest of the other two’s conversation faded into background noise. He would have used his phone but since he had forgotten to take back his charger from Mark he had barely any battery left. The rain didn’t seem to be slowing down outside but the rain hit the other windows much harder than the one Johnny looked out. His eyes followed the drops down the window.

Johnny had never been afraid to act a bit childish, so it was a given that he was cheering one of the drops on. He was cheering on the smaller one, he had always been a sucker for an underdog story. Much to his dismay, it seemed to be losing; the bigger drop already reaching the last part of the race and arriving at the final spurt. Mentally Johnny gave the drop his condolences and found two new drops to watch as they rolled down the window. They looked like small lightning bolts. Not so gracefully sliding down.

In his quiet enthusiasm, he had forgotten the drink before him, and the fact that Ten had smirked at him suggestively. So when he saw someone in the corner of his eye sitting down right next to him he almost noticed. Ten was not going to turn down the opportunity when he saw it. So he confidently pated Johnny and the shoulder and said: “Hey, do you believe in love at first sight or should I pass by again?”

At first, Johnny just stared at him. Then a smile spread across his face. “I seem to have forgotten my number, can I have yours?” He lifted his cup and looked Ten right in the eye as he took a sip. “Oh, I like you. That’s a really good one.” Ten also took a sip of his tea. “Now, my real name’s really long because I’m Thai but I go by Ten. It describes me really well.” 

Ten had a really charming voice. It drew Johnny in. Maybe a little whiny but that plus his mischievous smile made him very charismatic. “I’m Johnny. I also have an Asian name that I don’t go by. It’s nice to meet you.” A little voice in Johnny’s head told him to go in for a handshake. He ignored it. A handshake after two consecutive pick-up lines seem a little out of place 

“That’s nice. Do you live here in the area?” The smile had not left Ten’s face even for a second. Johnny really liked him. He was bold charming and fucking pretty. What more could you ask for in a man? Also, Johnny could just feel that his parents would love him too. “Well, I live here in Soho. Although I moved from Chicago with my parents when I was a teenager. You?” He had no idea why he shared that much. That was an unnecessary amount of information for the first conversation with a person he had no connection to. But whatever. If he was going to date him he might as well already start.

“Oh, I live with two friends in the East Village. I go to NYU Tisch for dance. My parents are still in Thailand.” A dancer. This man got more and more ideal by the second.

“I have a friend who goes there. Musical theatre. I have an internship at a radio station, but I also went to NYU. The world’s small I guess.” Johnny took another sip of his tea. At this point, there wasn’t a lot left. That was some good boba. He made a mental note to bring Doyoung and Yuta here sometime. Maybe Mark or Jaehyun too. 

“Yes, and I guess that’s a good thing since it made me meet you,” Cheeky, Johnny thought to himself. “But I’m actually on my way to Suho. So since the sky’s cleared up, maybe I can walk you home?” Ten put down his drink now empty drink a bit harder than needed. Some may call it a statement. 

“Maybe I could get your number before we leave. Since, you know, I lost mine.”

“Of course. Give me your phone.” Johnny reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He had a picture of himself, Yuta and Doyoung as his lock screen. His two friends hated it but it made Johnny warm inside. But as Ten was sitting right next to him, he also saw it.

“Wait you know Doyoung? Are you the roommate he always talks about?” Ten’s smile disappeared for the first time since he had walked down into the shop. Instead, it turned into a sort of confused chook. 

“Yeah. I guess I am. My statement that the world's small rang truer than expected.” Johnny was a bit distracted, so coming up with something clever to say was harder than usual. Because if he had thought Ten was just hot and charismatic he needed to add cute to the list. This man with if fancy boba tea and nice fashion was really a catch. Johnny unlocked his phone and offered it.

“Actually,” Ten said as he took it. “That’s great because I’m going out with him and our friend Kun today. So I was on my way to your flat.” He quickly made himself a contact and wrote in his number. “Can I text myself real quick?”

“Sure!” Johnny answered. “I wonder how we never meet each other before because he’s mentioned you a couple of times. Or well, he mentioned an annoying Thai dude,” This time Johnny smirked. “But I guess he just has an awful sense in men because you seem like a real ten.”

Ten laughed. Johnny added another heavenly thing about Ten to his growing list. “Yes, that seems like Doyoung.” He handed the phone back and stood up.

As Johnny stood up Ten turned to the register. “Lucas! Thanks for the tea but I’m leaving. And I see a group of girls coming this way so make yourself ready!” He shouted. The door to the back that had been ajar opened fully and Lucas (Johnny guessed Lucas would be better than Yukhei now) emerged. “Well, I hope I’ll be invited to the wedding. Have a nice day and hope you have fun with Kun.” Lucas smiled, looked at the group of girls that were definitely going to the shop, sighed and the waved at them both. 

For the third time, Johnny heard the bell ring as the door closed. Yeah, he was definitely going there again. Hopefully as a taken man next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! first of all, thank you for reading and leave kudos or even a comment if you feel like it! 
> 
> second of all, i've never been to new york but i actually did some research for this fic – so it should be mostly geographically correct. The boba shop, however, is based on my favourite boba shop in stockholm. It's called [Cha Talk](https://www.instagram.com/chatalksthlm/?hl=sv) and it's closed for the summer which sucks, but that's the inspiration for this soo.
> 
> lastly, i have a twitter
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/notupforpolo)


End file.
